The Hidden Costs of “Free" Public Education
- rstinson10
- 6 days ago
- 10 min read
Updated: 11 hours ago
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The Actual Cost of Public Education
According to Census Bureau, the average cost per pupil per year is $15,633.
Regardless of whether you rent or you own your own house, condominium or apartment, you are paying a portion of this amount, along with everyone in your community. Moreover, your housing costs are likely to be more expensive in comparison other cities or counties if you live in a "good school district": that is, the school is getting extra funding from you. (Side note: there is no such thing as a good school district). Think about how different your life would be if your housing costs were $200, $400, or even $1000 less per year. What would you do with this money instead?
Further, most Americans believe that their tax bill is the only cost of public education. Or it seems to be "free" because you don't experience the transaction the same as when you buy gas at the gas station or a drink at a coffee shop. The monies that you pay for public education is built into all kinds of other taxes without being clearly identified: property taxes to your city, town, or county; income taxes paid to the federal and state government; sales taxes, use-taxes, and (if you're privileged to live in a "good school district") taxes for school bonds that are added onto all the other taxes you pay.
And there are many other non-monetary costs of public education that greatly impact society later on when the children grow up without the skills and education they need, when their education is incomplete, or worse, they go on to become criminals or incapable of supporting themselves, instead being dependent upon the state in some respect.
More so, even if you understand how much money is being spent on public education in America, perhaps you're thinking: "Sure, but I want this money to go to teachers and to benefit the kids being educated. The money spent is worth on educating future generations is worth it, right? "
Wrong. And here's the truth of all of this:
Public education is not "free" at all. The costs of public education are enormous and amounts to roughly 7% of the federal budget (which is hundreds of billions of dollars) and state spending amounts to roughly 25% to 33%, on average.
Public education in America costs are 35% to 40% than in other countries per K-12 pupil, and the United States is the 5th highest spender per pupil .
Most of the money does not go to teachers or for kid's programs. The ratio of teachers to administrators and other bureaucrats is roughly 2:1, and roughly 70% (or more) of public education costs are administrative, rather being spent on actual education.
Roughly 14% of students fail to graduate from high school or require additional education to obtain a GED or an equivalent.
We've discussed much of the above in other articles: in this article, we will review the other hidden costs of "free" public education.
Higher taxes Contribute to a Higher Cost of Living
The high cost of public education is contributing to the already high tax burden put onto American citizens. Higher taxes translates into an ever devaluing of the dollar (inflation). The cost of everything increases when the government spends money: increased labor costs, higher cost of groceries, and an overall increase costs of goods and services to pay for the high taxes.
What if your tax bill was lower and inflation was lower? Would you need a second job? Would you be able to pay off your student loan sooner? Would you be able to afford your dream vacation, or become debt free?
Public Schooling Requires Parents and Students to do More than just "Show up"
Public education isn't self-contained within the hours of school. You child will be coming home with homework nearly every day and due to the poor management of most schools, you will be attending teacher/parent conferences and school board meetings, and (if you care about what your child actually learns), you will have to monitor your child's education very closely to ensure that tehy actual learn the things they need to learn. The extra time and effort you spend outside of "bell to bell" time are all part of the invisible cost of "free" education.
Financial Extras
Because of the poor management of nearly every public school, you will be spending money on supplies, equipment, and transportation to make this financially leaky system "work". And just like a leaky bathtub you will be constantly spending money to fix the problems with your kid's education, such as extra tutoring, therapy of various types, career training, and sports/music/extracurriculars. When your parents went to high school decades ago, Shop-class, Home-ED, and music were standard parts of the cirriculum; but today, mismanaged and cash-strapped public schools have jettisoned all these valuable programs. You will making up the missing parts. For example:
School Dress Up Days
Does your child need to dress up like a celebrity at school? Or a greek goddess? Here is a real "dress up day" list from a school FB page from Nov. 2025.
School Supplies
You will need to buy school supplies for your child and for your school.
Public School Eats-up Your Free Time
Your time commitments to the school are also built into the hidden cost of "free" education.
Mental Load and the Rat Race
The school activities listed below are hidden and often mislead the public about what is actually required of a family when they attend public school. They seem to be a strain on everyday Americans, not just two income households. Children feel it too. When your child attends a public school the stress of your life and theirs increases greatly.
The rat race has become normalized: public school will eat up your free hours and your childs with all kinds of busy work that has little meaning or value. People with kids in the public school system often complain about their lack of time. The forget to text people back or RSVP to an event. Their family can't attend a birthday party, don't have the time to meet-up with friends or cook healthy meals at home. The school calendar and extra commitments it requires leaves little flexibility for bereavement, illness, preparing for holidays, chores, moving, adjustment to a new baby, family emergencies and dentist appointments, or going on that great vacation you've always wanted to do.
I often describe homeschooling as being "peaceful". One reason for this description is because we have more control over our schedule and our commitments than our public school peers. We can choose to have less "on our plate" and we can add things to our calendar if we wish. We can sleep in and have a "lazy Tuesday" while still meeting our education responsibilities.
You still have to educate your child
You are still responsible for your child's education even if your child attends public school; studying for tests, helping them with homework and making sure they turn it in on time, bringing a book report to class, communicating with the teacher. You may need to hire a math tutor. This sounds a lot like homeschooling without the freedom.
School activities that require your presence
Parent- teacher conferences, awards ceremonies, performances, football games, fundraisers, PTO activities, school parties, Field trips, school board meetings and Open house days. Parents also have transportation responsibilities, whether children take a bus or not. There are minimum days, snow days, pupil free days and holiday breaks that parents need to plan for. Here is Kelly Clarkson complaining about the the struggles of being a working mom and having to attend school performances at 10am on a weekday
Vacations are more expensive when you must work around a traditional school schedule
Flights and hotels are generally far less expensive off-season. Have you ever been to Disneyland on a Tuesday in the middle of April versus any day in June? I have walked onto rides at Universal Studios before due ot the low and sometimes nonexistent wait times, but this only happens if you go on vacation in the off seasons.
School is robbing children of a childhood.
When was the last time you saw a child climb a tree or rode their non-electric scooter in their driveway on your way to the store? When was the last time you saw a child play a card game with their parents at a restaurant table waiting for their food? Kids need time to be kids. When children are a public school, they are forced to sit and be quiet and be "on" for such a long time at such early ages. After school there is homework, extracurriculars and their bedtime routine.
Your healthy parent/child relationship is diminished.
Our culture is full of "no contact", toxic and estranged families. This is not OK.
Public school creates a "two ships passing in the night" family dynamic. Families don't talk to each other as much as they should or spend quality time together. The school day also removes opportunities for healthy parental discipline and guidance.
Siblings also have less opportunities for healthy interaction with each other. When my boys were about 2 and 6 months old, I noticed our baby was upset and would sometimes cry when my toddler was napping. I wondered if it was because he missed his brother. I brought it up at the doctor's apt. and my assumption was correct, even as a 6 month old, he was still close with his sibling. The doctor also said that younger children's behavior tends to change when the older sibling ones go off to school. I am thankful we can homeschool so that my kids can be friends.
Lost and Found
Items your child looses at school that one day get donated count towards the invisible cost of "free" education.
When you send your child to school, they must bring things with them like a water bottle, lunch box, jacket, gloves, chap stick, school supplies etc. They must also take care of their belongings and remember to take them home at the end of the day.
The internet is oversaturated with photos and videos showing schools' overflowing "lost and found" collection of items like this one. What is not shown are the valuable items like cell phones, apple watches and jewelry etc that also may be lost. Even if the monetary value of your child's lost item is small, the cost adds up. When your child looses their jacket, you will need to replace it.
Being responsible for your belongings is difficult for adults to do. How many times have you left your phone or your jacket at a restaurant or your water bottle at work? About once a week I see a lost and found post on facebook about a key fob, phone or other important item being taken to the police station for claiming.
It is unreasonable to expect children, especially middle school age or younger to be fully responsible for all of their belongings for the entire school day. Children are changing rooms, going to the cafeteria, recess and assemblies in addition to transportation areas like the bus stop and leaving items behind is inevitable. It's a situation set up to fail and an accident waiting to happen.
Managing your children's' items is the parents' job. However, even if you wanted to be more responsible for your child's belongings, you can't. Parents are not with their children at school and how many opportunities do parents actually have to look at the lost ond found items even in passing like during pick up and drop off.
Forced Association: Russian Roulette
Your child's potential exposure to predator teachers, bullies, bad influences, school violence, drug use and trans kids is built into the hidden cost of public school. Your child will be forced to interact with people that you would never allow your children to be around in any other circumstance. Here are some examples:
When homeschooling parents have more control over our children's social circle and who their teachers are. If we are not comfortable with something, we can remove them from the situation immediately to protect them. This is not the case when children are in school.
Medical Russian Roulette
Adults are graduating high school unprepared for life
You would want your children to learn while they are at school.
Public school is leading children to an anti- christian lifestyle and doctrine
Your worldview matters!
Take public school indoctrination seriously.
Your child's worldview matters to prevent future delinquent behavior. Today, adults are rioting and burning down cities and the genesis for this behaviors begins in the public school system. Retail stores are locking up laundry detergent and toothpaste because petty theft is rampant. Your neighborhood has porch pirates. Our streets are littered with the illegal dumping of mattresses, needles and garbage on the side of the road. Immoral dog walkers leave their pet waste on their neighbors lawns. But, hey at least these individuals received a diploma at a "good public school", right? The truth of the matter is that public schools, being absent of any source of moral authority, are teaching a future generation of children that there is no such moral authority. There's no reason why a behavior is "right" or "wrong" in public schools, only the arbitrarily enforced rules, as public schools are not allowed to teach the Bible or integrate any religious foundation. How does a child learn that "though shalt not steal", if there's no source of authority behind such? The answer is that they don't: they learn how to not get caught stealing, how to become better thieves. The public education only provides for a system of punishments; it does not provide for creating a morally grounded fabric, based upon truth.
Hopefully, your children will one day get married and you would want them to have the moral foundation to have a happy marriage with love, kindness, loyalty and a non-feminist worldview. You would want their marriage to be free of abuse, adultery, narcissism and laziness. You would want your child and their future spouse to not enter the marriage with a high body count, STDs or a past abortion. These are all Christian values that are not taught at school.
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